Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans today announced he has appointed Jesús Reyes, A.M., A.C.S.W., L.C.S.W., as Acting Chief Probation Officer of the Circuit Court of Cook County’s Adult Probation Department effective immediately. Mr. Reyes currently is the Director of the Circuit Court’s Social Service Department, the court’s probation department for misdemeanor defendants, and will continue to serve in that position.

"Mr. Reyes is a proven administrator who has demonstrated outstanding executive capacity at the helm of the Social Service Department for the past six years. I am confident that he has the necessary ability, knowledge, and hands-on leadership to accomplish the unique task of heading both of the court’s probation departments that serve adult defendants," said Chief Judge Evans.

Reyes has served as Director of the Social Service Department since August 1999, having initially served as the Director of the Circuit Court’s Children’s Advocacy Rooms where he developed a first-of-its-kind court-based clinic to assess children and families for the effects of domestic violence. Prior to working for the court system, Reyes compiled a diverse background in social services, both clinical and administrative. His past positions include serving as a member of the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Department of Psychiatry’s multidisciplinary Parenting Assessment Team, and as Assistant Dean for Enrollment and Placement at the School of Social Service Administration of the University of Chicago.

A licensed clinical social worker in Illinois and Indiana, Reyes is a graduate of the School of Social Service Administration of the University of Chicago.

Reyes also is the author of The Applicant’s Handbook to Master’s of Social Work Programs, the definitive work of its genre now in its tenth year.